Dr. Lester Adams, Western Maine Sanatorium, 1928

Dr. Lester Adams was the long-time medical director of the Sanatorium, serving from 1928 until the facility closed in 1959.

Dr. Estes Nichols was the first medical director and founder of the Sanatorium, which was operated privately until 1915 when it became a state institution.

Nichols believed in the fresh air treatment. Patients slept outdoors on porches or in pavilions that were open on one side to let in fresh air. Patients wore fur coats, were wrapped in blankets, and put their feet in boxes lined with straw.

By Adams' tenure, that treatment had been modified, although fresh air still was seen as beneficial.